We attended a small (~ 100 people) rally for peace in Miami today, standing at an intersection holding signs critical of ICE.1
We made something of a game of trying to predict which cars would honk in support. Some unscientific results:
• We did better among pick-up trucks than I would have expected (based on unfair assumptions about who drives pickup trucks).
• We did generally badly among JEEPs (especially ones with many rubber ducks). We did well with Toyotas, a fair number of Mercedes, Lyft drivers, and Prime drivers. Several city bus drivers waved. Two 18-wheelers carrying stuff for the nearby county fair pulled the horns. We took people waving and videoing/photographing as a similar sign of support
• It’s something of a social action. If one car in a bunch (say 10-20 cars) going through a light honked, a high percentage in the group would honk. Other groups stayed silent as a whole. Two cars stopped at a traffic light turned it into a responsive duet–like “Dueling Banjos” or the end of Close Encounters.
• A couple dozen flipped us off or gave a thumbs-down. One was angrily gesticulating so wildly that his car drifted into a another lane and he almost caused an accident.
• I kind of wish I had tracked by group, although that might have gotten boring after awhile. Jen thought we had around 40 % support. I thought at first it might be higher, but I think she is closer to correct.
- Winners: “Can’t Spell Cowardice Without ICE;” “It’s January; Minnesota has enough ICE;” and “Chinga La Migra” (fuck ICE in Spanish–I learn things). ↩︎